Pfeiffer Beach is one of the most beautiful stretches of sand in Northern California — but getting there isn’t easy.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF PFLUEGER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
| March 24, 2013

Big Sur, a rugged and isolated stretch of coastline 150 miles south of San Francisco, has notorious riptides.

Photograph by Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated press
| March 24, 2013

Quiet walks, cool air, and the opportunity for reflection: For decades, these have been the primary draws of this slice of California.

Photograph by Orville Meyers/associated press
| March 24, 2013

Big Sur isn’t really a town — it’s more a collection of state parks, beaches, and simple storefronts that straddles Highway 1 as it winds 90 miles south from Carmel-by-the-Sea, a ritzy enclave near the Pebble Beach golf course, to the old Hearst Castle at San Simeon.

photograph by Jeff Pflueger for The New York Times
| March 24, 2013

Cellphone service is sporadic, and the roadway is often blocked by rock slides or downed trees.